Evil Koga
by Down Iris
Summary: And evil version of Koga takes Kagome captive and kills everyone else.


Evil Koga

by Down Iris

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I do not have any rights to nor make any money from the characters in this story.

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And evil version of Koga takes Kagome captive and kills everyone else.

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If you haven't already read my other story, "If Things Had Been Different: Koga and Kagome," you should probably read it before you try this one. It's much happier. This is sort of a darker version of that story. For the purposes of this story, Naraku does not exist.

I tried to make Koga as evil as I could without him being sadistic, but he's still not as evil as I wanted him to be. This story has non-explicit scenes where evil Koga rapes Kagome, in case you don't want to read that. I want to say that I think rape is despicable and anyone who does it should be killed slowly and painfully. I think this situation is similar to many arranged marriages throughout history. I felt uncomfortable including such scenes, but I needed them to tell the story I wanted to tell. I made them as sanitized as possible. I wanted to show the effect on Kagome of being terrorized for so long, but I don't think she came off as scared and hateful of Koga as I wanted either.

I welcome constructive criticism. I'm sorry about the cheesy ending, but I couldn't think of anything better.

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The battle between the wolf demons, the harpies, and Inuyasha was almost over. The king harpy swooped in to try to grab Koga's arm in his teeth, but Koga managed to kill it instead. It fell down to the ground. Then Koga turned on Inuyasha. They fought back and forth until Koga slashed Inuyasha across the neck. Inuyasha also fell to the ground. Kagome was horrified. Sango, Miroku, and Kirara rushed at Koga, but he punched through Hirakotsu and slaughtered them as well. Then he turned on Shippo. Shippo changed into a balloon and tried to float away, but he wasn't fast enough. Koga jumped up and sliced right through him. Even more horrified, Kagome tried to run away. She didn't get far before Koga ran up to her and grabbed her with an arm around her, pinning her and her arms against him.

"Don't kill me!" she screamed on reflex.

"Kill you? I wouldn't kill you. You're my mate." He grabbed the back of her head and forced a kiss on her.

"I could never be your mate!" she cried, pulling away. "Especially after you killed all of my friends! Why did you kill them?" Kagome started crying.

"Well, if I didn't kill them, then they might have tried to take you away from me, and I couldn't allow that."

Kagome looked stricken. "You mean you killed them…just for me?"

"Of course. Now come down and enjoy the feast." He let her go.

"You're going to _eat_ them now?" Kagome asked, aghast.

"Why waste good food?"

"Please don't eat my friends!"

"You have no say in the matter. But if you don't want to watch, you can wait here." Kagome sank down to the ground. Koga walked back to the bodies. The other wolf demons had already started on the slain harpies. Koga said to them, "You're welcome to eat any of these, but I get first dibs on the half demon." Kagome started sobbing.

A while later, everything seemed to quiet down. Kagome felt like she could cry no more, and seemed somewhat in a daze. Koga came back to her.

"Come on, we're heading back to the cave." When she refused to stand up, he dragged her up. He tried to pull her forward but she resisted him.

"I'm not going anywhere with you, you monster!"

"Yes you are. Now either walk, or I'll have to carry you." Kagome stayed where she was. Koga threw her over his shoulder like before, and Kagome started hitting him and kicking her legs.

"Put me down, you bastard!" She kept that up all the way back to the cave, with Koga keeping a tight hold on her.

Koga set Kagome down in a corner of the cave. "This is my spot in this cave. You are to stay here unless I'm with you, understood?" Kagome snorted. Koga slapped her. "Understood?" he asked again. Kagome said nothing until Koga lifted his hand again.

"Yes, fine!" she exclaimed, frightened but still resistant.

"Good. Now remember this. It's useless for you to run. I can smell where you go and I'm much faster than you. Now stay here!" Koga wandered off into the cave. Kagome immediately started thinking about how to escape. It would be best to attempt it after everyone was asleep. She tried to study the way out of the cave. As the last of the sunlight was failing, Koga returned.

"Everyone, listen up!" He pulled Kagome to her feet. "This is my new mate. You are not allowed to talk to her or touch her, unless she tries to escape, then you can pull her back by her upper arm. Everyone got that?" A chorus of yeses sounded.

Koga turned back to Kagome. "Lie down near the wall, it's time to sleep." Kagome reluctantly lay down. She was dismayed when Koga lay down right next to her, with their arms touching. She pulled hers back.

_This may make it difficult to escape, if he is lying right there,_ she thought. _I just need to stay awake an hour or so, and then I'm out of here._ She tried to concentrate on staying awake, and finally decided enough time had passed. She slowly stood up. Koga didn't seem to stir. She carefully stepped over him and paused to hear if he woke up. Gaining confidence, she made her way to the waterfall. After stepping through, she could see more in the moonlight. Unfortunately, she could see that on either side of the waterfall were posted sentries, and she knew they'd be able to see her if she attracted their attention.

Paralyzed, she thought about taking her chances with the bottom of the waterfall, but before she could make a plan, she heard from one side, "Hey! You're Koga's mate!"

"Yeah!" came a voice from the other side. The sentry stepped forward and grabbed her arm. "You're trying to escape! Koga won't like that!" He dragged her struggling back through the waterfall and over to Koga. "Hey Koga!" When Koga sat up, Kagome was thrown onto her knees in front of him. "We caught her trying to escape."

"Thank you, that will be all." The sentry left and Koga got to his feet. "Didn't I tell you it would be useless to run? Yet you still tried. That hurts my feelings." He pulled back his leg and kicked Kagome in the stomach. She was thrown a few feet backwards. "You should be lucky I went easy on you. I could have kicked you across this cave!" He grabbed her arm and threw her back in her spot. "Now lie down and _really_ go to sleep!"

Kagome was in so much pain it was all she could do just to breathe. Koga lay back down next to her and eventually she fell asleep.

%

The next morning, the first thing Kagome thought was, _What a horrible dream! I'm glad I'm awake! _She felt much better until she opened her eyes and saw the ceiling of the cave above her. _It wasn't a dream!_ Tears streamed down her face, and she could feel her injured stomach. Hesitantly, she turned to her side. Luckily, Koga was already up and gone. She thought about the night before and cried some more.

Finally she thought she couldn't cry any more. She tried to sit up, but gave up quickly. She pulled up her shirt and saw the nasty bruise on her stomach. Amazingly, though, she still felt hungry. _I didn't want what was offered last night._ She shuddered at the memory. _But am I going to be offered anything much better by that monster this morning?_

Just as she was thinking this, Koga came up carrying a pair of dead chickens. He put one in front of her and said, "Good morning. Here's your breakfast." He leaned over to kiss her, but Kagome pulled away. He slapped her and tried again, pulling her head towards him by her hair. Kagome reluctantly let him kiss her. Then he started eating the other chicken.

Kagome thought quickly. _I'm going to have to survive until my next escape attempt, so I'll need that monster to get me proper food. And I should act obedient for now so he lets down his guard. I'll just have to keep my contempt to myself._ She hesitantly started, "Um, humans can't eat raw meat. We have to cook it first."

Koga looked up. "You mean on a fire?"

"Er, yes. And I'll need a knife." Koga looked at her, then at her chicken. He set his down, got up, and walked away. A few minutes later he returned with sticks, kindling, and flint stones. He started a fire against the wall, near where they had slept. He handed her a knife.

"There you go." Kagome cooked the chicken as best she could, lying on her side propped up on her elbow. She wished she had a pot, but she had seen no sign of any in the cave.

"Do wolf demons eat anything other than meat?"

"Not really, why?"

"Well, humans require a more diverse diet. We need fruits and vegetables too. If you're going to keep me here, you'll need to feed me properly."

"Could you get this stuff from a farmhouse?"

"Yes, if we had something to trade."

Koga snorted. "Trade? With humans? We'll just raid it."

"We couldn't do that! I won't allow it!"

"If you need those foods, then I'll raid one with or without you. But it would be better if you could pick what you want."

Kagome thought for a moment. "Fine, but we'll pick one that looks wealthy. And you can't kill anyone!"

"Are you ready to go now?"

"I suppose so."

"Then come on." He pulled her to her feet and started dragging her to the waterfall.

"I can walk on my own!" she said, trying to shake him off. Once outside the waterfall, Koga tried to put Kagome over his shoulder again. "Can't I ride on your back instead?" she pleaded, thinking of her stomach. He allowed this, and they set off, Kagome silently hating every moment she spent with him.

They stopped by a few farmhouses before Kagome found one to her liking. It looked like no one was home, and it seemed fairly well off. Koga set her down and they sneaked into the storehouse. It was fairly full, and Kagome filled a bag with fruits and vegetables. She directed Koga to take a bag of rice. _I'm going to need to steal a pot for that rice._

Kagome reluctantly sneaked into the house. She saw several pots hanging up, and took the smallest. She also found a spoon and a pair of chopsticks. She stole the rattiest one of many blankets folded in a pile. Trying to think of anything else she would need, not wanting Koga to make another trip, she didn't hear someone come through the doorway behind her.

"Stop, thief!" she heard a small boy cry. Turning around, she saw a knife in his trembling hand. She raced to the door.

"Come on Koga!" she yelled as she sped past. She looked back to see Koga turn to face the boy, who had followed her out. She ran back to Koga and started tugging on his arm. "Let's just leave! Please!" The boy had turned back into the house, obviously scared of Koga. "Please, Koga!" Kagome was desperate to save the boy.

"Fine." He turned around and started walking back to the cave, carrying the food on his shoulders. Kagome carried the items she had stolen. "I hope you remember what I said last night. It's useless to run. I can smell your trail and outrun you. Don't get any ideas walking out here."

"Why won't you let me go? I don't want to be your mate! I just want to go home."

"You are my mate, and I have to protect you. And I love you. I would miss you if you left."

"You have known me less that 24 hours! And we haven't spent much of that time getting to know each other! How could you possibly say you love me?" Kagome was getting desperate.

Koga looked over at the stressed look on Kagome's face and grinned. "I just know."

They walked the rest of the way in silence, with Kagome spending her time contemplating how to escape. The prospects didn't look good now that her friends were dead.

Back at the cave, Koga left Kagome alone most of the day. She wasn't allowed to move from her spot or talk to anyone else. She grew very bored, with making lunch her only highlight. It seemed like every wolf demon in the cave made some opportunity to walk past her, and their blatant staring unnerved her. Some looked at her with disdain, and some looked as if they wanted to eat her, although a few gave her hesitant smiles. She tried to remember which wolf demons these were, but they all seemed to look the same.

At dinnertime Koga returned with a pig. "Take what you want." He kissed her again. Kagome had decided over the course of the day to just take them without complaining, because every time she did he would slap her and make her kiss him anyway.

As Kagome cut up the pig, she asked, "Is there anything I can do while you're gone? I've been bored all day."

"There isn't anything that can't be taken care of by others. As my mate, you won't be required to do much."

"I'm bored, though!" _If I have to stay in this crummy place, hopefully I can at least not be bored to tears!_

"Enjoy your freedom." Koga finished eating, stood up, and walked away. _He calls _this_ freedom? I can't enjoy this!_

Kagome had been planning another night escape, though she didn't think she had enough of a plan to make it that night. _Some night will work, I just need to wait._ She had already lain out to sleep when Koga came back. He lay down next to her and kissed her again, but this time he forced his tongue between her lips. Kagome lay still in shock.

He stopped kissing her and pulled back. "Give me some tongue action." He started kissing her again, but she still lay in shock. He pulled back again and slapped her. "I said give me some tongue action!" He started kissing her again, and she reluctantly tried to accommodate him. He pulled back again and slapped her. "You can do better than that!" This time she tried harder, and after kissing her for what seemed like forever, he finally stopped. Kagome started crying. She felt like her mouth had been violated and it still tasted vile. Koga slapped her again. "Stop crying! I don't like it when you cry!"

"I can't help it!" Kagome sobbed. Koga slapped her again, which only made her sob harder. After a minute she calmed down.

"I've thought of a way to keep you from escaping tonight," Koga said happily. Dreading whatever it might be, Kagome looked at him. "Roll on your side away from me." Kagome did so, fearful. She felt Koga's arm slid over her stomach and move around in front of her, searching for a position. He finally settled with his arm against her stomach and his hand on her breast. Then Kagome felt his leg cross over hers. He whispered in her ear, "Now you can't go anywhere! Sleep well!"

Kagome cringed and started crying. _How am I going to escape now?_

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The next two days passed similarly to the first. Kagome was mostly left alone, with meals being her high points. She again asked for something to do, but was denied. At night Koga started slipping his hand under her shirt. Her disgust for him steadily increased with his demands on her.

On the fourth morning after breakfast, Koga said, "Today we're going to look for jewel shards. Get together what you want for lunch." Kagome did so, grateful for a change. Koga gave her a waterskin to put in the bag of lunch. Kagome got on his back without complaint, and they ran for a while. She was concentrating on detecting a jewel shard and was surprised when Koga stopped and put her down.

"There aren't any jewel shards around here."

Koga grinned a grin that scared Kagome. "That's not why I stopped. I think it's time we consummate our relationship."

Kagome drew back. "What?" she asked in disbelief.

Koga continued to grin. "We're mates, so we need to mate."

Kagome turned around and took off running. Koga let out a large sigh, waited a few moments, and then ran after her. He caught her almost immediately. "Haven't I told you that running is useless? We're going to mate today whether you like it or not. Now, you can either cooperate nicely, or I can hold you down. Your choice."

Kagome was panicking and had given up hope. _Maybe if I cooperate, he'll be gentler?_ "I'll…cooperate," she said, her voice trembling.

"Good. Now take off all of your clothes." Kagome still stood still in shock. "Either you take them off, or I'll rip them off, and then you won't have anything to wear back to the cave, got it? And you'll have ugly claw marks on your lovely skin. Your choice." Kagome saw she had no choice. She turned away and started undressing. Koga undressed as well. When she was done, Kagome sat curled up on the ground, crying. Koga came over to her, naked, and slapped her. "No crying! This is the best day of our lives!"

"I can't help it!" _This is the worst day of mine!_

"Now lay out flat for me to see you." Kagome reluctantly did so. Koga stood over her, appraising her. "You're even more beautiful that I imagined!" He climbed on top of her.

"Why are you doing this?"

"I'm making love. Isn't that what you humans call it? I love you and I'm making love to you."

"Yours is a twisted love," she threw back at him, but he was busy getting started and didn't respond.

It wasn't as bad as she had feared, but it definitely was not pleasant. She was thankful when he was finally done and he lay down next to her. "Put your head on my shoulder," he directed, moving his arm under her head. She did as he requested, tears still streaming down her face. "That was wonderful, wasn't it?" When Kagome didn't respond, he slapped her.

"Yes, it was wonderful!" she choked out. They lay there in silence for some time. Kagome thought more about escaping.

After a while, Koga spoke. "That was so wonderful. We should do that again, and soon." He paused, and then turned to Kagome. "How about now?"

"What?" Kagome asked in disbelief as Koga climbed on her once more.

After he was done, he stood up over her. "You can put your clothes back on." He walked over to her pile of clothing. "I'm going to take this, though. I don't want you wearing it, it gets in the way." He held up her bra. They both got dressed. "Now, how about we go find some jewel shards?" he said, grinning. Kagome looked at him with more disgust than she had thought was possible.

As they were running along, Kagome thought about whether she wanted to let Koga get his hands on any more jewel shards. Eventually, she decided that she would help him find them, because then the demons who possessed them might kill Koga and she could escape.

After a fruitless day of searching, Koga raped Kagome again before returning to the cave. The next two days passed in the same fashion. They stayed at the cave the following day, and Kagome foresaw another boring day. _But at least he won't be raping me today._

Shortly after breakfast, Koga came back with a pile of pelts and dropped them at Kagome's feet. "Can you sew?" he asked.

"…Some," she replied.

"Well, I have a task for you then. Sew yourself some clothes with these pelts. Your clothes look ridiculous." He handed her a needle, a spool of thread, and a knife, then walked away.

Kagome looked at her task with apprehension. _At least I'll have something to do._ She worked on a shirt the rest of the day.

That night, Kagome was lying down, trying to fall asleep before Koga came over. She heard some shouting near the entrance to the cave, but she tried to block it out. Suddenly, she heard, "No! No! N—" cried loudly. She looked up just in time to see the body of a wolf demon fall, with Koga standing above him, hand and claws outstretched.

She heard Koga calmly say, "Dispose of the body," and then he walked back to her. Kagome sat up, horrified.

"Did you just kill that man?"

"Yes," was all his reply.

"But…why?"

"That's none of your business. Now lie down."

After they got into position, Kagome lay with her eyes open. Her heart pounded with a renewed fear of Koga. _I must not forget that he could decide to kill me at any moment._ She eventually managed to fall into a fitful sleep.

%

The next few days were spent searching for jewel shards. On the third day, Kagome finally sensed one. "I sense a jewel shard!" she said excitedly.

"Where?"

"Veer left." After some further instructions, they came close to where the jewel shard was. "Stop here, and let's go slowly." They snuck forward until they reached the end of the trees. They saw a small fortress near the tree line.

Koga approached it, jumped up and looked over the top. When he returned, he said, "There's a lizard demon in there. It seems like there's just the one. I'm going in to kill it. You stay here." He jumped back over the wall.

_Fat chance! I'm out of here! Hopefully that lizard demon will kill him!_ She took off running. She ran for about ten minutes when she heard something behind her. As she turned to look, she felt something slap her hard on the back. She fell onto her hands and knees and saw Koga come to a stop in front of her. _Crap, he didn't die._

"Didn't I tell you to stay there?" he asked, sounding very angry.

"I was just…" Kagome started to say, very scared.

Koga slapped her. "You were just what? You were just hoping the lizard demon would finish me off so you could get away?"

"No…."

"Well, too bad for you, I'm not that weak. You thought I was that weak, didn't you? That hurts my feelings!" Kagome had pushed herself up onto her knees. Koga kicked her hard in the stomach, sending her flying back a few feet. Kagome curled into a ball and started crying. Koga dragged her up and threw her over his shoulder. "Now we have to go find the jewel shard. And stop crying!" He spanked her.

"I can't help it, your shoulder is digging into my stomach!"

"Well, you should have thought of that before you ran off!" They returned to the fortress and Kagome reluctantly showed Koga where the jewel shard was in the remains of the lizard demon's body. Then they returned to the cave, with Kagome cringing at every step.

%

After another day at the cave, Kagome was almost done with her shirt. Koga came up to her. "Let me see you put it on."

"Alright." She started pulling it on over her shirt, as she had been doing to try it on.

Koga stopped her. "Try it on without your other shirt."

"What? You mean, in here?" she asked, glancing around at all the other wolf demons.

"Yes." Kagome faced the wall and changed shirts as quickly as she could. She was embarrassed to see that the shirt showed some cleavage. Koga looked her over. "Very nice."

"I just need to do a row around the neck and a row around the bottom." She had made the neck go too far down in front and she wanted to add to the small sleeves she had sewn.

"No, I think it looks good just the way it is."

"What?" she asked, aghast. "But the neck is too big and my stomach is showing!"

"I like it that way."

"Do you want everyone else to see me like this, though?" she asked, glancing around again, hoping to change his mind.

"Let them look. I want them to envy me. Start on your new skirt, and don't make it any longer than this one. Now give me your old shirt." Kagome picked it up but held on to it, not willing to give it up. Koga pulled it out of her hands and left the cave with it. She felt frustrated. _That's another piece of my humanity gone._

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A few more days passed searching for jewel shards. Kagome ran out of food and had to resort to raiding another farmhouse. Koga took her to a different house. "Please don't kill anyone!" she pleaded before they approached it.

"Get a shorter pair of socks so you show off your legs more." Koga ordered. Kagome blushed. It had been hard to get him to allow her to continue wearing her shoes and socks, as he didn't think she needed them, but she had managed to convince him that human feet were too frail to go barefoot.

The raid went off without any encounters, and they returned to the cave.

"Change your socks," Koga ordered as soon as they returned. Kagome did so, and Koga snatched the old socks as she took them off. Again he left the cave with them. _Another piece of my old life gone! And he's going to take my skirt as soon as I finish another one!_

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A few more days passed in searching, followed by a day in the cave where Kagome reluctantly worked on her new skirt. The next day out, she again sensed a jewel shard. "I sense another shard. Veer right." As they got closer, she said, "I think there are several!" When they got close, they snuck up and saw three toad demons sitting in front of a cave. After they were far enough away, Kagome said, "Two of those toad demons have shards in their right shoulders, and there is at least one more shard in the cave, maybe more than one."

Kagome thought Koga would go in fighting, but he started to withdraw. "We'll come back tomorrow with more men. I can smell several more toad demons in that cave." Kagome was disappointed, but she tried to hide it as they returned home.

The next day they returned with sixteen other wolf demons. Koga led Kagome up to the front for another look. When they returned to the other wolf demons, she said, "Two of the four toad demons have shards in their left shoulders and one has one in its right. There is at least one more shard in the cave."

"Alright, men, follow the battle plan we made. Let's go!" They all charged off toward the cave. Kagome leaned against a tree, knowing better than to run away. But now she was unsure if she wanted Koga to die in battle. _If he dies, what would the other wolf demons do with me? Would they let me run away, or would they eat me?_

She listened to the sounds of battle peak and subside. A few injured wolf demons were brought back to where she was. Finally Koga came and got her. "All the toad demons are dead. Time for you to find the jewel shards." He led her to the clearing in front of the cave, and she nearly threw up seeing the pieces of toad demon spread about. She reluctantly stepped around them and found four jewel shards.

"There's another one in the cave," she said. Koga got a torch and they went in. Kagome gasped as she almost stepped onto a pile of flesh. Deeper in the cave she found the rest of the toad demon, along with another jewel shard. "That's all of them." She turned to exit the cave when she heard a scream. She looked at Koga. "That sounded human!"

"We found some humans in the toad demons' eggs farther back in the cave."

Kagome was scared. "What are you going to do with them?"

"We'll have a feast to celebrate our victory."

Kagome was horrified. "Can't you just let them go? Please?"

"I'm not going to waste good food just because you're human too. If you don't want to watch, you can hide in the forest. But don't go too far." Kagome started crying and raced off into the forest.

She went as far as she dared, but it was not far enough. She sat down against a tree with her back to the cave and covered her ears, but it was not enough to stop her from hearing repeated frantic begging, each time followed by a scream that was quickly silenced. Tears ran down her cheeks. She tried to comfort herself by telling herself that the toad demons would have eaten all the humans anyway, but she couldn't help feeling like every death was caused by her personally.

Eventually things quieted down, and then Koga came and got her. "Good work, Kagome. Five new jewel shards! And a wonderful feast." He saw the tears on her face. He slapped her. "Quit crying! You should be happy about our victory!"

"I can't help it," she said half-heartedly, tired from all the stress. She gratefully got on Koga's back to return to the cave, thankful to leave such a horrible place behind.

%

The next day she spent back at the cave, finishing her skirt. She changed into it before Koga came back. When he did so, he pulled her into a kiss. "You look sexy. Just like you could be a real wolf demon." Koga took her old skirt from the ground and ran off with it. _I guess I'm becoming more of a wolf demon every day,_ she thought morosely. _When will I find a chance to escape? _

%

Several months passed searching for jewel shards, and Kagome got more and more desperate to escape. Every month, Kagome used strips she tore from the stolen blanket for her period, which came fairly regularly. She had managed to convince Koga early on to let her keep her underwear for such times.

Kagome had been wearing the rags for a few days when she realized she was late. It took a few more days of waiting before a horrifying possibility occurred to her. _Could I be pregnant?!_ She cringed at the horrible thought. _If Koga knows I'm pregnant, he'll keep an even closer eye on me and it will be even harder to escape. And if I have the baby here, that will severely complicate any escape plan. And would the baby even be able to go down the well? _She shuddered at that possibility. _I have to get home!_

Still not sure about a plan, she decided to set some groundwork by getting Koga used to her relieving herself in the night. That night she stayed up as late as she could. She tried to extract Koga's hand from her shirt as gently as possible. She sat up and had just moved his leg off of hers when a hand grabbed her wrist.

"Where are you going?" Koga asked accusingly.

"I just need to pee!"

"Alright, but hurry back. I'll be waiting." There was a menacing tone to his voice. When she returned, he slipped back into his original pose. Kagome sighed. _A night escape won't work yet._

She kept this up every few nights for another month. As her period continued to not come, she became even more certain she was pregnant. Finally, one night when she came back, Koga had already gone back to sleep. She decided it was time to try.

She had decided that her only option was to go down the waterfall and try to float away. After leaving Koga, she snuck over to the waterfall. _It's now or never! I hope there are no rocks at the bottom!_ She stepped out from the ledge and fell down the waterfall. Luckily, she just landed in a large pool of water. To one side was a huge boulder, and she was grateful she had missed it.

_Step one accomplished with welcome success! Now to step two!_ She took a deep breath and dove underwater. She swam with the current and tried to stay underwater as long as possible. Finally she had to breathe.

When she came up, she was grateful to see that she was under the trees and hopefully out of sight of any sentries. _Now I'll just see how far this river can take me! _It flowed generally in the direction of the well.

As she floated, she thought about what she would do when she got home. The biggest problem was her baby. _I could just have an abortion. That would probably be easiest._ She only thought that for a moment before she shook her head. _Even if she is the child of that monster, she's still my baby too. Hopefully we can surgically alter anything that makes her look like a wolf demon._ Kagome had begun thinking of her baby as a girl, although she had no real way of knowing.

She managed to stay afloat until just after daybreak, when she heard the most unwelcome sound she could think of. "Kagome!" Koga shouted from some distance off. _Please don't find me, please don't find me!_ she pleaded, trying to stay as much underwater as possible.

As the light level rose, she could make out Koga appearing at the edge of the river. "I've found you, Kagome! There's no point in trying to hide! Now come out of there and get over here!" He sounded very angry as he ran along the river after her.

"I'm not getting out! I'm going home!"

"If you make me come in there after you, I'm going to be even more angry!"

"Humph!" Kagome made no sign of complying. Koga chased after her for a bit, when a gushing noise started getting louder ahead.

"That's a waterfall, Kagome! Get out of there before you get yourself killed!"

"I'm not getting out, I'm going over! It worked with the last waterfall!"

"Get out now!" Koga shouted, starting to sound desperate. When he saw that Kagome was serious, he jumped in and swam to her. When he got there, he grabbed her around the waist and started swimming back. All this time, Kagome was kicking and thrashing, but his hold was too strong.

On shore, he threw her to the ground and slapped her. "What were you thinking? You would have died!"

Kagome stood up. "I could have made it." She decided to make a run around Koga for the river, but he picked her up and ran into the forest a distance. He set her down and slapped her again.

"You were still thinking of going over! I saw you glancing over my shoulder at the river, and you were all tensed up like you were about to run!" Kagome stayed quiet. "I told you it was useless to run! And yet you still tried to escape! That hurts my feelings!" As Koga drew his foot back, Kagome remembered what had happened the last two times she had tried to escape.

She jumped back and put her hands over her stomach. "Wait, don't kick me! I think I'm pregnant!"

"What?" Koga demanded, his foot still in the air.

"I don't know how you tell for sure without a test, but I missed my last two periods."

Koga looked even angrier. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Um, well…."

Koga slapped her. "You were planning to escape before I knew." He paused, and then slapped her again, even harder. "What were you thinking, risking not only your own life but that of _our child_?"

"I just want to go home," Kagome whispered.

"This is your home now! You are never going back down that well again, do you hear me? Never!" Koga circled around to Kagome's back. "Well, I won't kick you in the stomach and risk harming the baby, but you still need to be punished. Kneel down." Kagome started crying as she did so. Koga kicked her hard between her shoulder blades, sending her flat onto her face. She lay there for a moment, crying. "Get up. Since you're pregnant, I'll let you ride back to the cave on my back, if you get on yourself." Kagome willingly climbed on his back, and he took her back to the cave.

As they were running, Kagome thought, _Maybe I should have let him kick me in the stomach and cause a miscarriage. But I don't think I could have done that any more than I could seriously think about an abortion._

%

After a few days, Koga cooled down enough that he started being interested in the baby. While they were out searching, Koga began raising the subject.

"I'm sure the baby is going to be a boy. I think I'll name him Akio. That sounds good."

Kagome decided it was time to bring up her name for the baby. "What if she's is a girl? Could I name her then?"

"He's going to be a boy, but go ahead and pick out your name."

"I was thinking Shiori."

Koga snorted. "I suppose that would be okay, but he's going to be a boy." Kagome let Koga continue thinking about his Akio, but she continued to think about her little Shiori.

Koga sometimes talked about how he would train Akio as a wolf demon. Some of the methods made Kagome cringe. His idea of parenting was far from her own. _I have to get home before I deliver this baby! I don't want that monster harming my child in any way. And he says he'll love the baby, but I shudder at the thought of him loving her in the same twisted, abusive way he loves me._

%

One morning, Koga took Kagome on what she assumed was another trip to search for jewel shards. After about two hours, however, she saw some wolf demons ahead. Koga stopped briefly to talk to them, and then he took her on. She saw several more wolf demons in the distance, and then they came upon a clearing filled with wolf demons. Kagome got a little scared.

Some of the wolf demons came up to greet Koga. He talked to the for a minute, and then asked, "Where's my aunt?" One of the wolf demons led them to a large, female wolf demon.

"And what is my nephew doing here with a human in tow? Is she a gift?" She looked at Kagome hungrily. She had the childish urge to hide behind Koga. He at least was a known evil, and she had stopped fearing that he might kill her at any moment after the first month. She was stopped when he put his arm around her.

"No, she's my mate."

His aunt snorted. She looked at Kagome with disdain. "Why would you debase yourself to mating with a human? I'm sure several of the girls around here would be happy to be your mate."

"She can see sacred jewel shards. We've already collected ten."

His aunt looked at Kagome with more acceptance. "That is a useful trait. But why did you bring her here?" Kagome wondered that too.

"She's pregnant."

"Pregnant! You got a human _pregnant_?"

"Yes, and neither of us knows much about pregnancies, so I came to you hoping you'll give us some information."

"Well, I don't know anything about _human_ pregnancies, but wolf pregnancies aren't that different from wolf demon pregnancies, so I suppose human ones wouldn't be totally different either. First, they last about nine moon-cycles."

"That's the same as humans."

"Don't speak in front of your betters!" Koga's aunt snapped at Kagome. She felt the same childish urge to hide behind Koga, but he still held on to her.

"She is my mate and she deserves more respect than that!" Koga fumed.

"Fine," she relented. "So how far along are you?"

"About two months," Kagome said hesitantly.

Koga's aunt went on to lecture them about what to expect with a wolf demon pregnancy. The details didn't seem that different from what little Kagome knew about human pregnancies. Eventually his aunt ran out of things to say.

"You should bring her back here for the birth. I doubt any of your men know much about delivering babies." Kagome felt horror at this idea, being helpless among so many strange wolf demons. Soon they left to continue searching for jewel shards.

%

Two more months passed and Kagome became even more desperate to escape. One day, a new thought occurred to her as Koga was raping her. _I could just kill him._ She was repelled at first by this thought, but as she thought about it over the next few days, the idea grew on her. Eventually she got so comfortable with it that she started planning the murder.

_He's so evil, it would be a good thing for everyone if he died. _She finally settled on a weapon and method. _A knife across the throat would probably be easiest for me._ The problem with this was that Koga had always made a point to take back any knife he lent her before they went out, and killing him in the cave was not an option. _If the other wolf demons see me kill him, they'd just eat me. I need to get my hands on a blade, and soon._

%

The next week, Kagome again sensed a jewel shard. While leading Koga to it, she was dismayed to find that it was located in a village. Before they reached it, Kagome had Koga stop. "I don't sense it anymore," she said with a slight warble in her voice, which Koga picked up on.

"What do you mean? Where did it go?"

"Um, I don't know, it just sort of vanished?" Her uncertain tone caused Koga to slap her.

"Tell the truth. Where is the shard?" Her eyes involuntarily glanced at the village. He slapped her again. "You just don't want me to go into the village, is that right?" Kagome looked down, defeated. "Well, we are going into the village, and if you don't tell me where the shard is, I'll look for it myself. You wouldn't want that, would you?"

"No!" Kagome sighed. "Just please don't kill anyone!" She reluctantly led him to the village. Just outside, she had an idea. She tucked the points of Koga's ears into his sweatband. "That will make you look a little less like a demon to passersby." She led him through the village without incident to a small house. "It's in there." She knocked on the door. When an elderly man answered, Koga grabbed him and went through the door. Kagome glanced around to see if anyone had noticed as she shut the door behind her.

She decided speed was the best option. She went over to the desk the shard was in, but couldn't access it. She turned to the man. "Which drawer is the shard in?"

"Thieves! You'll never find it!"

Koga dug his claws into the man, who shrieked. "Tell us how to get to it or you'll lose your arm!"

The man considered for a moment. "Okay, there's a catch in the top of the third drawer on the right." Kagome switched it and a piece of the desk that had looked decorative slid out. Kagome picked up the shard. As she did so, she happened to see a small knife sitting on the desk. _What a break!_ she thought, slipping it into her pocket. She turned back quickly to see if Koga had noticed, but he was still occupied with the man.

"Okay, we've got what we came for, so let's go!" she said, tugging on Koga's arm. He started after her, and then turned around. He swiped off the head of the man, and then walked back towards the door.

Kagome was horrified. "Why did you kill him?" She started crying. "You said you wouldn't!"

"I never promised. He might have told somebody about us."

"You didn't have to kill him!"

Koga opened the door. "Come on." When Kagome made no move to follow, he grabbed her arm and dragged her out. She came after him, still crying. Luckily no one stopped them as they exited the village.

%

The rest of the day was spent searching. Kagome felt the weight of the knife in her pocket with each step. It seemed to take on a life of its own, and she was terrified that Koga was going to notice something was wrong, though she tried to act normal. She also felt directly responsible for the man's death. _It's all my fault that we went into the village! If only I had been able to stop him!_ Her guilt threatened to consume her. _At least I can stop Koga from killing anyone else._

As evening approached, Koga stopped, and Kagome knew what was going to happen next. _This is my one chance!_ As she had planned out, she went up to Koga and started kissing him, putting one arm around his neck. He took the bait and drew her in by her waist. She slowly brought the knife up behind Koga's back. When she felt she was in position, she quickly sliced across his neck. Or at least she tried to, because Koga shot his arm up and grabbed her wrist when she had barely broken his skin.

"What is this?" he asked, looking at the knife in her hand, more in confusion than anger. Kagome knew what was coming and started sobbing. She hung limp from the wrist Koga was holding. He reached up and touched his throat. When he saw the blood on his hand, he suddenly exploded.

"You bitch!" he cried. He pulled the knife out of her hand and flung her to the ground. Kagome rolled up with her arms around her stomach, still sobbing. Koga threw the knife away over the trees. He kicked her hard in the butt and she flew a few feet, landing with a cry. "After all I've done for you! This is how you repay me!" He kicked her in the back and she flew a few feet more, rolling so she was face down, her arms still across her stomach. Her sobbing was uncontrollable, and her only thought was to protect her baby.

Koga came over and systematically kicked her in each upper arm, calf, and thigh, yelling at her all the while. Then he picked her up by her neck and let her dangle. Kagome clawed at his hand. "You should be grateful that I took it easy on you because of the baby!" He threw her back on the ground. Kagome tried to evaluate her injuries. It seemed like he _had_ gone easy, because none of her bones felt broken. She was just going to be severely bruised.

Kagome had taken the beating in silence, except for her sobbing, but now she wanted to be heard. "I wouldn't have had to resort to something like that if you would _just let me leave_!"

Koga slapped her. "You're my mate, got it? That means forever! You are _never_ leaving me!" He turned and stomped away, leaving Kagome lying on the ground. She lay there breathing for a minute. Koga kicked some nearby rocks over the trees, and then he came back. "Get up! We're going home!" When Kagome was too slow in getting up, he roughly pulled her up the rest of the way. He threw her over his shoulder and spanked her. "Don't think that I'll forget this!" They returned to the cave in silence.

%

Koga stayed mad longer than for her other escape attempts, but eventually things returned to normal. He never let her near a knife again, choosing to butcher her meat himself. Three more months passed searching for jewel shards. Kagome's belly started to show, and she had to adjust her clothing. She had long lost track of the date, but she thought she was about seven months pregnant, and that she had been in that world for about ten months. She had pretty much given up hope of ever escaping.

One morning she sensed another jewel shard. "It's just through here," she said, walking forwards through the forest. She got to the end of the forest and could see for miles. In the distance was a large bear demon, looking right at them.

"Stay back!" Koga whispered, pushing her behind him. He ran out to face the bear demon. Kagome backed farther into the forest and hid behind a tree. She could hear the scuffle, and a scream that sounded like Koga's. Eventually things became quiet and Koga called out to her. "Come out here, Kagome. I need some help." Kagome thought he sounded like he was in pain, and when she got to him, he was lying on the ground, his right leg a bloody mess. The bear demon lay dead beside him. "I'm going to need some help getting home."

Kagome stood staring at his bloody leg. Some wheels clicked in her head, and she took off running. Koga called desperately behind her, "Kagome! _Kagome! KAGOME!"_

Once Kagome had run as far as she could, she stopped to catch her breath and think. _It's just lucky that I ran northeast, that's where I told Koga the well was. But it's actually southeast. _She looked down to the bag she was still clutching in her hand. _At least I still have lunch and the waterskin. _She looked around. _I guess I'll keep going northeast until I find a river to lose my scent in. Maybe he'll keep going northeast. I don't know how long it will take him to heal enough to come after me. Hopefully it's long enough._

She set off northeast, walking as fast as she could. Eventually she reached a river running fairly north. She walked upstream in the shallows for several hours until the river became a small creek. Then she crossed to the other side and kept going, heading roughly in what she thought was the right direction.

%

After five days of travel, Kagome was almost to the well. She had traveled as fast as possible and had slept only when she couldn't see the path anymore. She pushed herself as hard as possible because she kept fearing she would hear her name called behind her. She had traveled with a mixture of sped and stealth that she hoped would get her to the well ahead of Koga. She had been forced to beg and steal for food, which took up precious time. Having the waterskin had saved her, however. She had been tired and hungry and scared so long she was completely stressed.

Finally she reached Kaede's village. She felt bad that she couldn't visit her and tell her what had happened to the others, but she was afraid Koga would catch up to her at any moment. Also, if she left a trail to Kaede, Koga might follow it and hurt her.

As she entered the forest near the well she started to run. _Almost there!_ she thought desperately. She was beginning to hope she would make it safely home. She had just entered the clearing around the well when she heard a voice she feared more than anything else.

"Kagome!" Koga was still some distance off. Kagome almost stopped in fear, but then she pushed herself to run faster than she thought possible. "Kagome!" she heard, much closer this time.

She reached the well and dove in headfirst, every second priceless. She ended up twisting in midair enough that she saw Koga's head and outstretched arm appear above her. On his face was a look of disbelief and loss that would haunt her for years. Then he was gone, and she landed hard on her shoulder. She lay at the bottom of the well breathing for a minute, not quite believing that she was safe. Eventually she climbed out of the well and stood staring at the walls of the shrine.

Suddenly the tension she had been feeling for the past few days broke, and she fell to the ground, crying. She cried for what seemed like forever. _I'm safe! I'm safe!_ she thought over and over, still not quite believing it.

Finally Kagome had cried enough, and she went in search of her family. The doors to the house were locked, and no one answered at her knock. She used the hidden key to get inside.

"Mom? Grandpa? Sota? I'm home! Is anybody here?" She looked into rooms until she came to the kitchen. She suddenly felt her hunger. _Food! Lots and lots of food!_ She grabbed some potato chips and started scarfing them down. Then she made cereal, and refilled the bowl twice. As she was finishing her third bowl, the back door opened.

Her mother entered, and as soon as she saw Kagome, she dropped her bags. "Kagome! You're alive!" she cried as she ran to her. Kagome stood up and her mother hugged her tight. "We were sure you had died!" Then her mother noticed Kagome's stomach pressing into her. She drew back. "You're pregnant!" she said in disbelief, putting her hand on Kagome's stomach.

Kagome broke down crying. "It was so horrible, Mom!" She hugged her again and started telling her mother everything that had happened. Her mother eased her onto the floor with her head in her lap. They sat there for some time, a tearful Kagome telling her story. Eventually she got to the end of her tale, eating cereal. Her mother let her talk it all out with interrupting her, only rubbing her back gently and smoothing her hair.

When Kagome was done, her mother let her rest in silence until her sobs died down. "I know it was horrible, but you're safe now, Kagome. You don't have to fear Koga anymore. If he could have gotten through the well, he would have done so already. You don't have to worry anymore."

"But I'm still pregnant!"

"We'll worry about that later. I think right now the first thing you should do is take a bath. You look and smell filthy, and I'm sure you haven't had a real bath for the past ten months. You'll feel a lot better, and you can get out of those clothes."

Kagome stood up. "That sounds wonderful."

"I'll try to find some clothes that will fit. You just go relax in the tub."

Kagome ran a very hot bath, and threw the fur clothing on the floor. _I'm never wearing you again!_ She poured a ton of bubbles in the tub and settled in. _This feels so nice!_

A few minutes later her mother knocked on the door. "Can I come in?"

"Yes." Her mom came in carrying some clothes.

"I found some sweatpants, and a button-down shirt. You can just leave the bottom buttons undone. I have some underwear, and one of my sports bras, because I don't think your bras will fit anymore. I'll go buy you some maternity clothes tomorrow." She set the clothes down.

"Thanks, Mom."

"What do you want to do with these clothes?" she asked, picking up the fur clothing.

"Get rid of them! I never want to see them again! And I am never going to wear fur or leather again, after being stuck in it for so long! Ick!"

"Alright. Feel free to refill the tub when the water gets cold. You deserve to be pampered after what happened. I'll go make you a nice dinner, with everything you like." She left, taking the fur clothes with her.

Kagome cleaned all the grime off of herself, and used a ton of shampoo and conditioner. Finally she felt clean. She put on the clothes, which worked well enough, and went downstairs.

Her mother was in the kitchen busy cooking. Kagome collapsed into a chair and started playing idly with her cereal spoon.

"Kagome, I've been thinking. You need to decide what to tell Grandpa and Sota about your absence. Don't worry about anyone else yet. We told everyone you were in a coma after you didn't return for more than two months. We couldn't bear admitting you were dead, like we feared. Luckily we didn't. But you can still pretend to be in a coma for as long as you feel necessary."

Kagome relaxed some. "That sounds good. About Grandpa and Sota, I think I want you to tell Grandpa the truth, just not every detail. I don't want to go over it again myself. As for Sota…." She thought for a minute. "Just tell him that all my friends died on the other side of the well, and that the father of my baby is a wolf demon. He's bound to notice that after she's born. And I don't want either of them asking me questions about what happened!"

"I'll tell them. Do you want to take a nap until dinner? You look worn out."

"Yeah." She went upstairs to her room. She took a minute to appreciate everything in it. She went around kissing everything she had missed, including her lamp and her math textbook. _It's so good to be back!_ She curled up under her covers. A wonderful thought hit her. _I never have to sleep on a stone floor with Koga's arm around me ever again!_

_%_

After she had fallen asleep, Kagome's grandfather and Sota came home. "That smells good!" Sota said as he came in.

Kagome's mother couldn't wait to tell them the good news. "Kagome's home! She's alive!"

"What? Really?" Sota exclaimed.

"That's wonderful!" Kagome's grandfather cried. They both moved as if to go find her.

"Wait, she's asleep. And I need to tell you something first." Kagome's mother thought about how to say it, but then decided that short was best. "She's pregnant."

"What? Who's the father? Is it Inuyasha? And why was she gone all this time? What was she doing?" Sota rushed out.

"Sota, she wanted me to tell you that all her friends died over there soon after she went back, and that the father of her child is a wolf demon. That's all she wanted you to know. And she doesn't want to answer any questions, so don't bother her."

"All right. But can I at least go look in on her?"

"I guess, if you are quiet." Sota went upstairs and gently knocked on Kagome's door. When she didn't answer, he quietly opened it and walked in. Kagome was asleep in her bed. _She's really alive!_ Sota thought, at last finally realizing how scared he had been for her.

%

Some time later, Kagome's mother knocked on her door. Opening it, she gently said, "Kagome, dinner's ready. Are you ready to come down?"

Kagome stirred in her bed and sat up. "Yeah, I guess. You told Grandpa and Sota not to ask me questions, right?"

"They won't bother you." Kagome followed her mother downstairs and ate until she was ready to burst. Everyone told her what they had been doing for the last ten months.

"That was wonderful, Mom," Kagome said after she had eaten her second piece of chocolate cake.

"What do you want to do for the rest of the evening?"

Kagome was stumped. "I don't know. All the times I daydreamed about returning home, I just thought about seeing you guys and eating good food and having a real bed and bathroom. It will take some time to settle back down to normal."

She finally decided to finish the novel she had been in the middle of before she went down the well for the last time. At first she had daydreamed about how it would end, as she lost hope she would ever be able to finish it. However, when she picked it up where she had left off, she found she had forgotten so much she was forced to start back at the beginning. When she stretched out in her bed before turning off the light, she realized she must have grown at least an inch. Eventually she fell asleep.

%

The next morning, Kagome's mother cooked her a huge breakfast. Sota went to school and her grandfather went out. Her mother decided to bring up some subjects.

"I'll go out as soon as you feel ready to be alone, and buy you some maternity clothes. I also think you should see a doctor as soon as possible."

"Yeah, I guess that's a good idea. But other than that, I don't feel up to leaving the shrine. I'm still supposed to be in a coma and I don't want anyone to recognize me, especially with me being pregnant. I was hoping we could pretend for me to be in a coma until after the baby's born."

"That's fine, if that's what you want. I'll go make an appointment."

"I should probably see the dentist, too. I realized last night when I saw my toothbrush that I haven't brushed my teeth for ten months. I'm pretty sure I have at least one cavity."

"I'll make an appointment for him too."

Kagome's mother went out to buy clothes for Kagome. When she came back, she handed Kagome some books. "I got these from the library. There's one about being pregnant, one about parenting, and one about recovering from an abusive relationship. If you want more, I can get more. I hope they'll help."

"Thanks, Mom. I'll go look through them."

%

A few days later Kagome went to her appointments. The dentist was shocked at the state of her teeth, and she had to try to put him off with vague statements. She had two cavities.

The OBGYN doctor was worse. "You haven't seen _any_ doctor about your pregnancy before now? Why not?" She seemed to disapprove.

"Um, I just couldn't." Kagome tried to be vague. The doctor was not as easily put off as the dentist.

"You haven't taken any vitamins at all during your pregnancy? How has your diet been?" Kagome had tried to eat healthily, but her options had been limited.

"What type of exercise have you been doing?" Kagome didn't know how to explain that searching for jewel shards was the only exercise she had been allowed, and that mostly consisted of just riding on Koga's back.

The doctor asked many questions that Kagome couldn't answer. She examined her and did some tests. Finally she said, "Okay, now I'll do an ultrasound." Kagome suddenly panicked.

"I don't want an ultrasound," she said, afraid it would show something demonic. Despite her arguments, the doctor could not get her to agree to an ultrasound. Finally Kagome left with some prescriptions for vitamins, a stack of pamphlets, and an appointment scheduled for the next month.

%

The next six weeks passed quietly for Kagome. She relaxed and enjoyed everything she had missed. She tried to get over the horrible experience she had gone through. Her mother had suggested a therapist, but Kagome didn't think that would work.

"What would I say? If I told her the truth, she would try to treat me for delusion, and if I tried to tell just a partial truth, I would get caught up in a web of lies." Spending time with her family and reading the books her mother got her were her only therapy.

Her mother eventually brought up the subject of school. "You could go back to junior high and pick up where you left off after you have your baby. It's about the same time of year that you left.

"But I would be with a bunch of strangers. And they would treat me funny, with the story about the coma. I really would like to stay home with Shiori, too. We definitely couldn't put her in day care before she had surgery. I was thinking, could I be homeschooled for the rest of the year? I'll study really hard for the entrance exams. Then I can go to a high school where everyone else is new too, so I can start fresh. Please?"

"I'll think it over. That might work." Eventually her mother agreed that Kagome could be homeschooled.

%

One day at dinner, Kagome made an announcement. "Grandpa, I would really like to have the shrine around the well torn down and the well filled with concrete, and then pave over the top. I still feel uneasy with the well being open, and I also don't want Shiori to try to go down it when she's older. Could we do that?"

Her grandfather considered it for a minute. "I suppose we can do that, if it will make you feel better."

"It definitely will. Thanks."

%

Finally Kagome felt a contraction. Her mother rushed her to the hospital and held her hand while she delivered her child. As soon as the baby came out, the doctor said, "It's a girl, um…but I'm sorry to say she has some abnormalities." She handed her to Kagome.

"My little Shiori! I knew you'd be a girl!" Kagome looked down at her with pride. As she had expected, Shiori had pointed ears. Kagome checked her back and saw a small tail. Then she examined the claws on her hands. _These aren't as bad as I feared. With clippers, a little sanding, and nail polish, no one will notice. I guess we'll have to wait and see if she gets fangs. That's the only thing I can't really do anything about._

The doctor took Shiori to clean her up. Handing her back, she said, "I know a surgeon who specializes in birth deformities, if you would like me to give you his number. You'll have to wait a couple of months until she's old enough for surgery, though." Kagome gratefully took the number.

"What name do we put for the father on her birth certificate?" a nurse asked.

"Leave it blank," Kagome spit out.

A few days later, when they were back at home, Kagome used her mother's digital camera to take pictures of Shiori. She wanted to document what she looked like before surgery, as well as just taking pictures of her cute newborn. _Too bad I can't show these to anyone. But Shiori will want to see them when she's older._

Kagome found some baby-safe nail polish and went to work on Shiori's claws. After she was done, they could pass for normal. A few weeks later, Shiori had her surgery for her ears and tail. After that, she looked like any other baby, although she had a scar on her tailbone.

%

A week after her delivery, Kagome decided she was ready to come out of her pretend coma and get out more. After a few days, her friends found out and Eri called her.

"Kagome! I'm so glad you're all better! I can't believe you lost a whole year!" They chatted for a few minutes, and then Eri had to go. "You should come meet us at Wacdonalds tomorrow after school! I mean, if you're strong enough."

"I'll see you then."

The next day Kagome left Shiori in her grandfather's care and left the shrine for the first time by herself. She made her way to Wacdonalds, and waited only a few minutes before her friends came in.

"Kagome! Welcome back!"

"Kagome! It's so good to see you!"

"Kagome! We missed you!"

They ordered, then sat down and talked. Kagome was relieved to not have to do much of the talking, since the others didn't think anything had happened to her. Instead, they filled her in on their lives and their new high school. Eventually a more personal topic came up.

"You should have seen how distressed Hojo was when he heard you were in a coma! He was depressed for a whole month! It was really hard on all of us, not being able to visit you," Yuka said.

"Oh, yes, the hospital didn't allow visitors," Kagome said evasively.

"I bet you could get Hojo to ask you out again if you tried, Kagome!" Ayumi said.

Kagome panicked for a second. "Oh, no, I don't want to have _anything _to do with guys for a _long_ time!"

"Did you have a bad breakup with that boyfriend of yours?" Eri asked.

"Yeah, did he cheat on you while you were asleep?" Yuka asked.

"Uh, no, we broke up before the coma," Kagome lied. Her friends pestered her a little more, but Kagome managed to fend them off. The conversation passed to other topics, and eventually Kagome went home.

Four years passed. Kagome had completed high school with honors and had started college. One Sunday afternoon, she took Shiori to the park. As she was playing, Kagome daydreamed on a bench.

"Higurashi!" Kagome, startled, looked up.

"Hojo!" she said, standing. She was shocked to see him, especially as he had grown several more inches. "What are you doing here?"

"I was playing basketball over there with some friends, and I thought I recognized you sitting here, so I came over to say hi. It's been so long since we last saw each other!"

"Yes, I think not since junior high. How are you doing now?"

"I'm in college now, I came home for the weekend. I'm a business major. How about you?"

"Oh, I'm at the local college. I'm studying accounting."

"What brings you here?"

"Um, I'm here with my cousin." She had started telling people Shiori was her cousin soon after she was born, to avoid explaining that she was her daughter. She was still embarrassed at having a child so young, especially when she was supposed to have been in a coma. For people she couldn't avoid, like family, the standard line given was that Kagome was violently raped, which is what put her in a coma, and she came out of it shortly before Shiori was born. She usually let her mother tell people that.

"You must be a good cousin to take such good care of your cousin!" Hojo said. They talked for a few more minutes until Shiori came running up to Kagome.

"Mommy! Mommy! Look! I caught a toad!" Shiori thrust the toad at Kagome. For a second, Kagome had a disturbing flashback to when Koga fought the toad demons, and ate the humans. That left her off balance when she saw Hojo looking at her strangely. It took her a second to process, and then she blushed. _Shiori called me Mommy!_

"Um, that's nice, Shiori. Here's someone I'd like you to meet. This is Hojo. Hojo, this is Shiori, my, um, daughter…." She ended quietly.

"Hello, Mister Hojo! Do you want to hold my toad?" She thrust it at him.

"Hello, Shiori. No, that's okay." Hojo looked back at Kagome, who was still blushing. "Well, it was nice to catch up with you. I guess I should return to my game."

"Yes, it was nice seeing you. Good-bye!" He walked off.

"Why are you blushing, Mommy? Do you like him?" Shiori had been trying to set her up with men since she could speak complete sentences. Kagome had told her almost nothing about her father.

Kagome tried to stop blushing. She never wanted Shiori to think she was embarrassed about her. "No, we were just remembering things. Why don't we go home now? You should let your toad go."

"Alright." Shiori reluctantly set the toad down and grabbed Kagome's hand. "Can we go by the snow cone shop?"

"I guess."

%

Another year passed. It was Shiori's first day of school. Kagome dropped her off with pride and trepidation.

When she picked her up after school, Shiori was bursting to talk about all the things that had happened. After they reached home, Shiori took something out of her backpack and handed it to Kagome.

"It's a note from my teacher. She wants me to take off my nail polish for tomorrow. Do I have to, Mommy? My nails look weird without nail polish on."

"I'll give you a note to have her call me."

The next morning, shortly after Kagome dropped Shiori off, she got a call on her phone.

"Hello, Miss Higurashi? This is Shiori's teacher. You wanted to speak with me?"

"Yes. I saw the note you sent home, and I want to ask you to bend the rules for Shiori. You see, she has peculiar looking nails, and without nail polish I'm afraid the other students would tease her. I've been putting nail polish on her since she was a baby."

"We have a strict policy of no nail polish at this school, but I understand if you have special circumstances. I suppose, if her nails really do look different, she can wear nail polish, but it must be a flesh color."

"Thank you so much. I'll redo them tonight." Kagome hung up gratefully. It had become a ritual over the years that every three days, Kagome would redo Shiori's nails, and sand down the new growth. Shiori always seemed to enjoy this, and would hold much more still than she usually did.

That night, while Kagome was painting her nails, Shiori asked, "Mommy, why do my nails look funny? Why do you have to sand them and put nail polish on them all the time?"

Kagome had thought about answering this question for years, but she still wasn't sure what she should say. "Well, honey, you were born with unusual nails. I just didn't want anyone to tease you about them."

"But _why _was I born like that? No one else has unusual nails."

Kagome decided she was going to have to mention Koga, which she always tried to avoid. "Your father's nails were like that."

Shiori was happy to hear something about her father. "Why were his nails like that?"

"Um, it just ran in the family. The same as your teeth." As soon as Shiori's teeth came in, her canines were definitely prominent, but much less so than Koga's, to Kagome's relief. Nothing much could have been done about them.

"What was his family like?" Shiori tried to draw more information out of Kagome, now that she had opened up a little.

"I don't want to talk about him anymore."

"Could you at least just tell me his name? You never have. I've always wondered."

Kagome decided it was time. "His name was Koga."

"Koga? What, no last name?"

"He didn't have a last name. Now I don't want you to mention his name ever again."

"What was he like? Why do you never talk about him?"

Kagome cringed. "I have bad memories. He was a very bad man."

"Where is he now? Is he dead? Is that why I've never seen him?"

"He's as good as dead. He's someplace you can never go. Now I don't want to talk about him anymore." She got up and left the room.

%

Six years passed. Kagome had finally felt healed enough to try dating, although she hadn't had any long-term relationships. Shiori was doing well in school and had many friends. She went on a picnic with them one Sunday, and came home covered in mosquito bites. She took a bath, and after she got out she examined the bites on her back in the mirror. While looking, she happened to notice the scar on her tailbone for the first time. She threw on her robe.

"Mom? Mom! Where are you?" she called as she went down the hallway.

"I'm in here," Kagome called from the kitchen.

"Why do I have a scar on my tailbone?" she asked accusingly.

Kagome sighed. _It was bound to happen sooner or later._ "Honey, let's sit down in the living room." Once they were settled, Kagome tried to psych herself up to the talk that was coming. "When you were born, you had a tail. Also, your ears were pointed. You had surgery when you were a baby."

Shiori looked stunned. "Why did I look so weird?"

"Well, your father looked the same way when he was born. The same with your nails and teeth."

"Why did he have so many deformities? That doesn't make sense."

Kagome sighed. _I guess I just have to tell her._ "Your father wasn't human. He was a wolf demon."

Shiori snorted. "Yeah, right, tell me the real reason."

Kagome looked at her calmly. "I'm telling the truth."

Shiori looked at her and realized she was. She still did not really believe it, though. "You've always told me that demons don't exist. And I've never seen any walking around."

"They don't exist in _this_ world, but when I was fifteen, there was a way I could get into another world, five hundred years ago, where demons existed."

Shiori looked excited. "Can I go there too?"

"No, I had it sealed up the last time I returned."

"So you can never see my father again? Why?"

"I never wanted to see him again, and I still don't. And I never wanted you to see him either."

"I remember when I was little, you told me some things about him that made me think he was in jail. You said he was very bad, and that he was as good as dead. I always figured Koga was a gang name, because you said he didn't have a last name. But he's really a demon? That's so cool! Did he have any special powers?"

"Well, he was very strong, and very fast. He had an extremely sensitive nose. I think you've inherited some of those abilities."

"So that's why I'm so good at P.E.? And how I can find people wherever they go by their smell? I always wondered why the other kids didn't understand that during hide and seek."

"Yes, you are somewhat superhuman."

"Cool!" Then she turned to Kagome, more serious. "But you said he was a bad man?"

"Yes, he was very evil."

Shiori looked hesitant. "Then why did you, umm…." She trailed off, searching for a good way to put it. "Um, I mean, why did you…conceive me?"

Kagome had been getting more emotional the longer they talked about Koga. She reached her breaking point and started to sob. Shiori uncertainly put her arm around her, realizing she had pushed too hard. After a minute Kagome calmed down some. "I guess you're old enough to tell you," she said in a strained voice. "He raped me." She started crying again. Shiori was at a loss. Kagome eventually calmed down again.

"So that's why you never wanted to talk about him. I'm sorry for pressing you, Mom."

Kagome sighed. "It's alright. You deserve to know. But I don't feel like telling you any more right now."

"Will you tell me more someday?"

"Someday, yes."

"Alright." Shiori got up.

Kagome perked up at a new thought. "Now that you know, do you want to look at your baby pictures?"

"I've seen all the albums."

"These pictures aren't in any album. Come look on the computer with me." They sat down at the computer. Kagome maneuvered through folder after folder of old tax information, until she got to a folder named simply "Tour."

"I hid them so you couldn't find them before you were ready." She opened the pictures in the folder and they looked at them one by one.

Shiori looked on in disbelief. "I really looked like that?" One hand reached instinctively for her ear. Then a close up of her claws popped up. Shiori automatically looked at her nails. "I see why you tried to hide them."

Kagome gave Shiori a big hug. "I never wanted you to feel ashamed of yourself. And I didn't want everyone to think that something was wrong with you, judging you just by your appearance. I wanted you to have as normal a childhood as possible. Also, I think I didn't want you to remind me of Koga, but I didn't realize that at the time. You do look somewhat like him. Your eyes and chin especially." Kagome sighed, trying to not start crying again. When Shiori was born, those features, and the ears, claws, and tail, had repelled her a little at first, but she also saw her own nose and her mother's mouth. After a few days, the resemblance ceased to bother her, as she accepted Shiori as her own baby.

%

Seven years passed. Shiori stopped pestering Kagome for details about her father, and Kagome shared a few more details voluntarily. Kagome finally got married and had another daughter.

A few weeks earlier, Kagome had decided to tell Shiori everything on her eighteenth birthday. After they ate the cake, Kagome had Shiori come sit down in the living room with her.

"I think it's time to tell you everything about your father," Kagome started. Shiori looked both anxious and sympathetic, and waited eagerly. Kagome told her about going through the well, meeting everyone, and looking for jewel shards. She almost looked happy, remembering those good times. But when she got to the day she met Koga, she started crying. She forced herself to tell Shiori all the details of her months of captivity. Shiori looked horror-stricken the whole time. When she got to the part where she returned home, she perked up some, remembering her relief. And when she talked about Shiori's early years, she became perfectly calm.

"I'm glad that out of all that sorrow, I got the consolation of having such a wonderful daughter." She pulled Shiori into a hug. She looked thoughtful. "I haven't really talked about any of that stuff since the day I came back, when I told your grandma. It's kind of freeing, knowing that all of that is behind me.

"I can't believe you went through all that when you were only fifteen! I can't imagine how horrible that was! But I'm so glad you are able to be happy now."

"Yes, I guess I really am happy now."

%


End file.
